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[DOWN]

In the Nov 2011 leaked script, Javik was originally the Catalyst. It's safe to say ME3's main plot went through several rewrites, and writing Javik out of that slot was one of the rewrites. My bet is that once they decided to change the nature of the Catalyst and cut Javik from that role, they either had the choice to simply cut him or reshape his character into Day one DLC. With the way BW's studio worked at the time, without Day One DLC a bunch of the dev team just kinda sits on their hands doing nothing. From Ashes got them extra budget and allowed them to keep on their staff.

This dev post goes into some details a bit more.

That post kind of confirms the DLC was non essential and not exactly in the cut they were aiming for with the base game, however it's well done. Essentially semi-seamless retcon writing I guess.

 

[Daemul]

In the Nov 2011 leaked script, Javik was originally the Catalyst. It's safe to say ME3's main plot went through several rewrites, and writing Javik out of that slot was one of the rewrites. My bet is that once they decided to change the nature of the Catalyst and cut Javik from that role, they either had the choice to simply cut him or reshape his character into Day one DLC. With the way BW's studio worked at the time, without Day One DLC a bunch of the dev team just kinda sits on their hands doing nothing. From Ashes got them extra budget and allowed them to keep on their staff.

This dev post goes into some details a bit more.

Yeah, Javik's had a big role in the leaked script because he was meant to interface with the Crucible since the weapon was designed to only activate with a Prothean, thus making him the Catalyst, though the Catalyst we ended up with, i.e. the guy who created the Reapers and lives on the Citadel, was also in the leaked script but under a different name, The Guardian. Javik's role was changed and reduced obviously, most probably due to time constraints, and he was repurposed into DLC, whilst the Guardian took over Javik's role as the Catalyst in the final game.

 

[Big Nikus]

I can't believe I bought all the ME3 DLC and never played it. I also elected to not install From Ashes even though it came with my copy on day one because i couldn't wrap my head around it creatively. Like it dramatically affects the lore, but yet it wasn't even part of the base game really. It's optional DLC that perhaps most players didn't even see, which makes it seem probable that it didn't actual make the final draft of ME3 as they envisioned it, but was sort of put in after. It seems it wasn't fundamental enough for them to want everyone to see it, not to mention it is bizarre in premise based on the setup of the universe and how the game plays without that DLC.

Did BioWare ever directly comment on that DLC? I just can't help but feel like it is not really part of the central vision they had for the game and hence got either added late to be day one optional DLC or cut because of how it doesn't fit and isn't essential in their eyes. I would love to hear that it wasn't an afterthought to encourage pre-orders and the like, but it also clearly is nonessential if it didn't get put in the base game.

That said, I'll play it next time through.

I've been reading ME3: The Final Hours (by Geoff Keighley), and it covers that. Very interesting read (it's available on Origin and the ios/android stores). Basically, Javik was an essential part of the story but he had to be cut out to avoid another delay. So there were rewrites around that and the dev team was absolutely crushed at that time, morale seemed to be reaaally down. They absolutely didn't want it to be a DLC. The exclusion of Javik in the base game and the leaked alpha demo seemed to be awful times for the team. I encourage people to read The Final Hours because it's really well done, well written, and you can't help but feel sympathetic for the people that made ME3, even if you don't like the game. It reminds you, if need be, that real people, deeply involved emotionaly worked on it non-stop. The reception of the game must have been devastating, I'm genuinely impressed that they had the energy to make such cool DLC after the release (Citadel is one of my favorite parts of the whole trilogy). Also, in The Final Hours you get cool informations about the early concepts of the first ME. Like, Batarians were some sort of bat-like swarm aliens, hence the name...
Anyway, I think the first release date they announced for ME3 was way too close...

 

[Ralemont]

I've been reading ME3: The Final Hours (by Geoff Keighley), and it covers that. Very interesting read (it's available on Origin and the ios/android stores). Basically, Javik was an essential part of the story but he had to be cut out to avoid another delay. So there were rewrites around that and the dev team was absolutely crushed at that time, morale seemed to be reaaally down. They absolutely didn't want it to be a DLC. The exclusion of Javik in the base game and the leaked alpha demo seemed to be awful times for the team. I encourage people to read The Final Hours because it's really well done, well written, and you can't help but feel sympathetic for the people that made ME3, even if you don't like the game. It reminds you, if need be, that real people, deeply involved emotionaly worked on it non-stop. The reception of the game must have been devastating, I'm genuinely impressed that they had the energy to make such cool DLC after the release (Citadel is one of my favorite parts of the whole trilogy). Also, in The Final Hours you get cool informations about the early concepts of the first ME. Like, Batarians were some sort of bat-like swarm aliens, hence the name...
Anyway, I think the first release date they announced for ME3 was way too close...

It's a shame the lesson had to be learned this way, but since then (and with a new CEO) EA has been content to give BioWare as much time as they need. Shit, an extra year+ in delays for DAI, and it'll be 5 years since ME3 by the time Andromeda comes out.

 

[diaspora]

It's a shame the lesson had to be learned this way, but since then (and with a new CEO) EA has been content to give BioWare as much time as they need. Shit, an extra year+ in delays for DAI, and it'll be 5 years since ME3 by the time Andromeda comes out.

I mean part of that involves massive expanding in general. The number of projects that have in the pipeline dwarf what they had before they have little reason to not offer delays. Not to mention the new Bio IPs cooking too.

 

[Ralemont]

I mean part of that involves massive expanding in general. The number of projects that have in the pipeline dwarf what they had before they have little reason to not offer delays. Not to mention the new Bio IPs cooking too.

I think it's part of a general move to see EA's studios as one big diversified studio. I mean, part of the reason they greenlit Mirror's Edge Catalyst, probably knowing it wouldn't sell well, was the experience Dice gained as a studio making it. Similarly, everything new that one studio does gets passed along. So Need For Speed team helps out on the Mako, for example, and BioWare helped craft Fifa's story-mode trailer. It kinda makes sense in that regard.

 

[diaspora]

I think it's part of a general move to see EA's studios as one big diversified studio. I mean, part of the reason they greenlit Mirror's Edge Catalyst, probably knowing it wouldn't sell well, was the experience Dice gained as a studio making it. Similarly, everything new that one studio does gets passed along. So Need For Speed team helps out on the Mako, for example, and BioWare helped craft Fifa's story-mode trailer. It kinda makes sense in that regard.

We're quadrepeds even something Frostbite could do pre-Inquisition? Iirc they had to add the ability to have these things in for DAI too.

 

[Ralemont]

We're quadrepeds even something Frostbite could do pre-Inquisition? Iirc they had to add the ability to have these things in for DAI too.

Yep (as in, yep they had to add it). DAI sounded like quite the struggle.

 

[Tenacious-D]

The Origin version of ME1 has Pinnacle Station and Bring Down the Sky included by default. Nice! First time that I'll be able to play Bring Down the Sky then.

If you have the game on Steam, copy your key code and paste it into Origin. Or if you have a physical copy like I did, just contact EA support and they'll give you a key after sending some pics of the disks and a timestamp. Did the same thing for ME2, and they gave me the digital deluxe version, even though I only had the normal version on disk.

Origin is also very stable for me, although your mileage may vary.

 

[Tenacious-D]

Damn, ME1 + MEUITM + 4xSGSSAA + 4xMSAA = ME1 Remastered.

The game looks great. Super clean with that AA as well. The MEUITM mod also fixes most of the blocky shadows, which is nice.

Maybe someone here has experience. These Nvidia Inspector settings are the correct ones for ME1, right?

Antialiasing Compatibility set to 0x080000C1
Antialiasing Mode set to Overide
Antialiasing Setting set to 4x Multisampling
Antialiasing - Transparency Supersampling set to 4x Sparse Grid Supersampling

 

[DOWN]

The Casey Hudson Citadel demo for ME1 from E3 2006 set the tone for the first game so well. It's also one of the best demo reels I've seen, considering how innovative the dialogue was. Anyone else think of this when they saw the Andromeda trailer this year featuring the clean developer commentary at the start?

Mass Effect E3 2006 Demo Trailer "A bright universe with a dark secret. A spectacular new vision of the future."

https://youtu.be/3Li2MIGxOww

Mass Effect Andromeda 2016 Trailer

https://youtu.be/y2vgHOXeps0

 

[Bisnic]

That ME1 trailer is the kind of stuff I would have want to see this E3 for MEA, would have been perfect.

Also... man did ME1 change a lot from E3 2006 to release.

 

[VenomousCoffee]

"The machines are about to come back!"

You can't guess what that line really means before playing the game, but that's still a key line to use as what's just filler dialogue for the trailer. Weird choice.

 

[DOWN]

 

[Heckler456]

Man, fucking sucks that I'm already genuinely looking forward to this game. This wait's gonna kill me.

 

[DOWN]

I somehow missed this image and it's exactly the kind of concept that went missing in ME2 and 3 that I was hoping they'd strive toward after 1. Looks gorgeous.

 

[Barrow Roll]

Damn, ME1 + MEUITM + 4xSGSSAA + 4xMSAA = ME1 Remastered.

The game looks great. Super clean with that AA as well. The MEUITM mod also fixes most of the blocky shadows, which is nice.

Maybe someone here has experience. These Nvidia Inspector settings are the correct ones for ME1, right?

Antialiasing Compatibility set to 0x080000C1
Antialiasing Mode set to Overide
Antialiasing Setting set to 4x Multisampling
Antialiasing - Transparency Supersampling set to 4x Sparse Grid Supersampling

You're golden. Don't forget that you can add HBAO+ to some older titles with Nvidia Inspector as well. I'm on mobile atm so I'll just link you to this thread.

http://www.forum-3dcenter.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=556672

 

[VenomousCoffee]

That Andromeda art is just so beautiful.

 

[DOWN]

Cross post from the E3 Andromeda thread


Maybe some clarifications and such from this Glixel interview:
http://www.rollingstone.com/culture...-effect-andromeda-game-true-to-roots-20160620

Do you feel like you're taking a risk by leaving behind such an established and well-loved setting?

Aaryn Flynn: At its heart this game is still a third-person cover shooter. It's still going to have the tactical squad combat. But, to build on Matt's answer, we didn't want to make Lethal Weapon 4. We didn't want to just try and bring everyone back together one more time. That's probably a low risk option, but it's also the low-opportunity option. We really wanted to reestablish what we loved about Mass Effect 1, with that sense of exploration, that sense of newness, that sense of wonder. The story flows from that.

Is it significant that you're alone in the trailer? Should we infer anything from that? Is everyone dead?

Walters: I think you can infer that the voyage and the effort to do this is not a task that anyone would've taken lightly. If you think about a process where you go to sleep and then 600 years later and you wake up, but for you, no time has passed, the last thing you'd think before you go to sleep is, "Are we going to make it? Am I going to survive this? Will the ship just implode somewhere along the way?" So we actually wanted to capture that moment of, "Oh my god, we're here!" That's really where this story begins.

Flynn: This idea of "one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind" – phrases like that and, "we made it," are all meant to touch on a connection we have. Sure, one person is at Andromeda, but humanity really achieved something when she woke up there. We're all there with her in some sense, and yet she's intensely alone in that one shot in the trailer. What does it all mean, and what does it all tell us about our humanity? I think those are themes that are fantastic to explore, especially in interactive entertainment.

 

[Garlador]

Cross post from the E3 Andromeda thread


Maybe some clarifications and such from this Glixel interview:
http://www.rollingstone.com/culture...-effect-andromeda-game-true-to-roots-20160620

Good stuff.

That's the type of things I want to see and hear more of about this game.

 

[Patryn]

Flynn walked back that TPS comment by assuring a person on Twitter that it's still an RPG.

I just really need to see what the character systems are, what are the classes, and how do skills work?

I really do hope they completely rethink the classes and we get some new ones.

 

[diaspora]

Flynn walked back that TPS comment by assuring a person on Twitter that it's still an RPG.

I just really need to see what the character systems are, what are the classes, and how do skills work?

I really do hope they completely rethink the classes and we get some new ones.

Yes and no. He reiterated the moment to moment combat is still a TPS, leveling, powers, upgrades, etc would still be like an RPG.

 

[DOWN]

Do you guys try to do all the side quests when you replay? Or just some here and there?

 

[Garlador]

Do you guys try to do all the side quests when you replay? Or just some here and there?

I do everything, but I'm also a bit OCD and crazy when it comes to games I enjoy.

 

[Bisnic]

Do you guys try to do all the side quests when you replay? Or just some here and there?

I do everything.

Well, i'll skip the artifacts/minerals sidequests in ME1 because I want to keep my sanity, but yes, I do (almost) everything.

 

[DOWN]

I do everything.

Well, i'll skip the artifacts/minerals sidequests in ME1 because I want to keep my sanity, but yes, I do (almost) everything.

Yeah I'm referring to story/dialogue side quests, not the minerals.

 

[Big Nikus]

I'd like to install one or two mods for ME1 to improve the graphics a bit. Is MEUITM the best one ?
The Asari on the screenshot seems... I don't know, "overdone" to me:

Maybe I'll find it better in game, I have trouble judging when it's not moving

edit:

Damn, ME1 + MEUITM + 4xSGSSAA + 4xMSAA = ME1 Remastered.

The game looks great. Super clean with that AA as well. The MEUITM mod also fixes most of the blocky shadows, which is nice.

Maybe someone here has experience. These Nvidia Inspector settings are the correct ones for ME1, right?

Antialiasing Compatibility set to 0x080000C1
Antialiasing Mode set to Overide
Antialiasing Setting set to 4x Multisampling
Antialiasing - Transparency Supersampling set to 4x Sparse Grid Supersampling

Alright, that seems good. 4xSGSSAA and 4xMSAA are options included in the mod or is it something else ? (sorry I'm new to PC gaming )

 

[diaspora]

Asari textures in MEUITM look better than the screenshot.

 

[Mindlog]

Flynn walked back that TPS comment by assuring a person on Twitter that it's still an RPG.

I just really need to see what the character systems are, what are the classes, and how do skills work?

I really do hope they completely rethink the classes and we get some new ones.

I was actually happy to see the distancing from the RPG moniker. Mass Effect is at its best when it's doing its own thing. Including unnecessary baggage won't make it a better game.

I want robust dialogue options that impact the story, diverse weapon mod choices without inventory clutter and expansive environments that encourage exploration. Feeling compelled to explore because random items are buried out there is an RPG trope I could do without. Feeling compelled to explore because tear-assing through a barren world in the Mako is fun is something I can get behind.

*The book has likely been delayed to reflect the game's new release date.

http://media.vandal.net/master/21395/mass-effect-andromeda-201662211216_6.jpg

That star system is a mess -_-

 

[Barrow Roll]

I'd like to install one or two mods for ME1 to improve the graphics a bit. Is MEUITM the best one ?
The Asari on the screenshot seems... I don't know, "overdone" to me:
Maybe I'll find it better in game, I have trouble judging when it's not moving

edit:

Alright, that seems good. 4xSGSSAA and 4xMSAA are options included in the mod or is it something else ? (sorry I'm new to PC gaming )

MEUITM is really the only comprehensive texture mod for ME1 out there. I personally think it looks great.

SGSSAA is a form of anti-aliasing that can be forced in many games on Nvidia GPUs. You will need Nvidia Inspector before you can get started.

BoobPhysics101 (RIP) wrote an excellent guide that helped me get started with SGSSAA years ago. It's a little outdated, but I still suggest you read it thoroughly.
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=33974105&postcount=83

Two things that aren't covered in that guide:

1. Right below the entry for 'Antialiasing Compatibility,' you will find an entry named 'Antialiasing fix' in current versions of Nvidia Inspector. Make this is set to 'On."

2. You know longer need to mess with the LOD Bias settings. Current versions of Nvidia Inspector have a setting named 'Texture filtering - Driver Controlled LOD Bias.' Make sure this is set to 'On' and you're good.

Once you understand how to setup SGSSAA, you will need the correct compatibility bits if your game does not have in-game support for MSAA (such as the Mass Effect games). You can find those, and so much more, here:
http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?t=392715

So what should everything look like when that's all said and done?

You might notice that I also have HBAO+ enabled, a form of ambient occlusion. You can do the same for a lot games by entering the correct compatibility bits under 'Ambient Occlusion compatibility,' setting 'Ambient Occlusion setting' to 'Quality,' and setting 'Ambient Occlusion usage' to 'Enabled.' The same resource I linked above will have HBAO+ compatibility bits for many games.

Good luck!

 

[Big Nikus]

Thanks a ton !
I'm gonna read all that, I've just installed Nvidia Inspector.

I've successfully installed MEUITM, I took a few screenshots at the beginning and compared them with the ones I took a few days ago... and holy shit it's amazing.

 

[Patryn]

Do you guys try to do all the side quests when you replay? Or just some here and there?

100 percent, every time, and that includes all marked collection quests.

Having played ME1 so many times I can pretty much remember where most the minerals are when I land. I do occasionally look the planet map up, because I figure I've done the work in the past.

 

[Big Nikus]

Good luck!

Alright, everything works, thanks again !
The only thing I changed is the setting for Antialiasing - Transparency Supersampling. If I put the same setting as you, it hits the framerate, so instead of 4x Sparse Grid Supersampling, I just put 8x Supersampling. I don't know if it makes a significant difference.
Okay, time so spend the night on Mass Effect.
My GF is gonna be thrilled to see how good it looks

 

[jmood88]

Do you guys try to do all the side quests when you replay? Or just some here and there?

I do as much as I can the first time but I usually end up missing at least a couple things that I get when I go through again.

 

[Barrow Roll]

Alright, everything works, thanks again !
The only thing I changed is the setting for Antialiasing - Transparency Supersampling. If I put the same setting as you, it hits the framerate, so instead of 4x Sparse Grid Supersampling, I just put 8x Supersampling. I don't know if it makes a significant difference.
Okay, time so spend the night on Mass Effect.
My GF is gonna be thrilled to see how good it looks

If 4x SGSSAA is too demanding, drop it down to 2x along with MSAA down to 2x. Remember, for SGSSAA to properly work, you must match the MSAA setting with the SGSSAA setting. The results will likely still be better than what you're currently using, 4x MSAA and 8x TRSSAA. MSAA will only handle aliasing on polygonal edges. Character and world geometry will be nice and smooth, but there are many other types of aliasing that it won't have any effect on. Transparency Supersampling, or TRSSAA, is used to handle a very specific type of aliasing. Instead of fumbling my words, I'll just quote TweakGuides:

To represent lots of small objects, such as leaves on trees or blades of grass in a field, game developers often use textures with transparent portions, also known as Alpha Textures, instead of rendering each small object as a unique set of polygons. The classic example is leaves on a tree branch: rather than making each leaf an individually rendered complex object, a group of leaves are drawn as a single texture with a transparency effect around each leaf. This is much more efficient in terms of reducing processing load, but it also causes problems - traditional Antialiasing such as standard MSAA can't address the jaggedness and shimmering of the objects drawn within alpha textures. Therefore, this setting exists to specifically address the appearance of jaggedness on transparent textures, such as leaves, grass, chain-link fences, small windows, shiny edges on glassy or metallic objects, and so on.

You can read more about TRSSAA and how to properly use it over here. In fact, I highly recommend reading that whole guide if you're new to PC gaming and the Nvidia Control Panel. It's a lot of information to take in, but it's immensely helpful.

The advantage that SGSSAA has over just using both MSAA and TRSSAA in tandem, is that it affects ALL types of aliasing. You will see a severe reduction in shimmering and stair stepping of all types. You will still see some aliasing with 2x vs 4x, but trust me, the image quality is still going to be far superior than what you're using right now, especially in motion.

Here's a screenshot of ME3 I took back in 2012 with 2x SGSSAA when I was still using a GTX 560 ti. It still looks great.

Edit: Talking about SGSSAA makes me sad because I love it and I don't want to give it up, but Nvidia's pricing on their new GPUs is out of control right now, especially outside the US. AMD folks, what are the options for getting great image quality like SGSSAA? I've really been itching to move on from my 4GB GTX 770, and AMD's offerings along with just generally not doing shitty things like Nvidia are making me consider switching. Eagerly awaiting those RX 480 benchmarks. Maybe Nvidia will launch an amazing and affordable GTX 1060 in a few months to strike back at AMD?

 

[diaspora]

AMD folks, what are the options for getting great image quality like SGSSAA? I've really been itching to move on from my 4GB GTX 770, and AMD's offerings along with just generally not doing shitty things like Nvidia are making me consider switching. Eagerly awaiting those RX 480 benchmarks. Maybe Nvidia will launch an amazing and affordable GTX 1060 in a few months to strike back at AMD?

Depends, for ME3 specifically, I run the game at 4k with SMAA and downsample.

 

[Barrow Roll]

Depends, for ME3 specifically, I run the game at 4k with SMAA and downsample.

What card are you using, and how's the performance? Do you use VSR or do you need to setup custom resolutions? Is SMAA supported at the driver level or does it need to be injected?

 

[diaspora]

What card are you using, and how's the performance? Do you use VSR or do you need to setup custom resolutions? Is SMAA supported at the driver level or does it need to be injected?

I use GEDOSATO on my AMD 7970 machine and my 970 box. You can choose render, display resolutions, and SMAA.

 

[Big Nikus]

You can read more about TRSSAA and how to properly use it over here. In fact, I highly recommend reading that whole guide if you're new to PC gaming and the Nvidia Control Panel. It's a lot of information to take in, but it's immensely helpful.

The advantage that SGSSAA has over just using both MSAA and TRSSAA in tandem, is that it affects ALL types of aliasing. You will see a severe reduction in shimmering and stair stepping of all types. You will still see some aliasing with 2x vs 4x, but trust me, the image quality is still going to be far superior than what you're using right now, especially in motion.

Thanks, I'll keep the link bookmarked, one of the reasons I quit console gaming is because I hate aliasing, so... yeah, it's gonna be helpful !
And it works, I dropped both to 2x and I've got no fps issues. It's beautiful

 

[DOWN]

The 360 DLC is on sale this week for Gold members

 

[xclaw]

The 360 DLC is on sale this week for Gold members

Ahhh, why can't PS3 and PC ever get this...... buy buy buy 360ers!

 

[diaspora]

Ahhh, why can't PS3 and PC ever get this...... buy buy buy 360ers!

it was last month >.>

 

[Ridesh]

 

[Plasma]

Handsome Jack is going to be the main antagonist.

 

[George Oscar Bluth II]

Marvel crossover confirmed.

 

[AyzOn]

I have question about the Mass Effect 4 plot.

Do we know when Andromeda actually takes place?
I mean its confirmed that they find the arks but de we know when?

I think there was a thread that summed up what we know but I cant seem to find it.


(is that hyperion thing real? lol)

 

[CorrisD]

I have question about the Mass Effect 4 plot.

Do we know when Andromeda actually takes place?
I mean its confirmed that they find the arks but de we know when?

I think there was a thread that summed up what we know but I cant seem to find it.


(is that hyperion thing real? lol)

The start of the game is no doubt set between ME2 and ME3, I wouldn't be surprised if they are all sent off just as the Reapers pop up. I'm pretty sure in one of the videos, and going by some interviews, they mention they have been asleep for hundreds of years when they reach Andromeda.

Is this the thread you meant?

 

[AyzOn]

yep, thank you thats the one.

I guess its safe to assume its set somewhere around the beginning of ME3 or earlier, since the arks are located above earth right before leaving the milky way.

 

[The Artisan]

Eid Mubarek! I got my celebration for after work here, if ya see what I did there ...

 

[Tenacious-D]

Something interesting I notcied when watching the ME2 documentary included with the Origin version.

Originally, the ammo counter was on the gun itself, similar to dead space, and it seems that the overheat mechanic was still included.

[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/4Pdhj1x.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/1S8IYnW.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/AseObzl.jpg[/IMG]